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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Who Knew Writer’s Block Could be this Cute? By Karen Rock

Writers face many challenges. Ideas don’t rain from the sky. Good prose doesn’t gush like a spigot. We can’t just turn it on and off. Promotional work isn’t done for us by elves as we sleep. It’s easy to focus on the glamorous side. The pretty book covers. Fan meet and greets. A nice review on a favorite blog… but the truth is that it’s like any job with one exception. No accountant walks into his boss’ office to ask if he/she can stop working because he’s blocked. A doctor can’t halt mid-surgery, lay down his scalpel and claim he’s no longer inspired. A firefighter wouldn’t turn the hose off a burning house because he’s out of fresh ideas.

Only creative jobs risk the dreaded block and while that’s
not often a problem for me (I subscribe to the keep writing, even if it’s junk,
until it starts making sense- philosophy) that’s all changed recently. Writer’s
block, your name is Zoey.

Last fall I lost my beloved dog, Little Bit. We’d gotten her
as a rescue eleven years ago when she was two and I loved her so much that even
towards the end, I did everything I could to keep her with me. When she lost
her hearing, we developed some kind of sign language that worked. When she no
longer climbed the stairs, I carried her. When she started soiling herself in
her sleep, I jumped in the garden tub with her and scrubbed her before I washed
myself. I told myself as long as her helicopter tail kept going, I would too…
until it stopped. And when she passed, I felt like she took a part of me with
her. Still don’t have it back. Wouldn’t want it. It belongs with her until the
rest of me joins her. Hardest of all, I lost her while writing my current
release which features a heroine determined to raise and bond with an orphaned
bear. It turned out to be cathartic, though, as I poured a lot of my own
remembered joy and current despair into those pages.

Since then, I’ve written a novella for a holiday anthology
that was so light-hearted I could escape the sadness I still felt about Little
Bit. A new contract came in after the holidays and with it new deadlines. I
told myself it was long overdue to get over my slump. I researched my new book,
revised my first three chapters and began the mental negotiations I go through
when I decide how much of my synopsis I’m actually going to use (I hope my
editor isn’t reading this! Lol)

Then. A speed bump. Greg surprised me with a nine-week-old
puppy we renamed Zoey. As soon as I saw her fluffy, adorable little body and
cute face, it was love at first sight. However, since I hadn’t raised a puppy
in years (my other dog, Lizzie is thirteen) I forgot how much time and energy a
young creature needs. She was far from her Amish farm. Unused to the electric
sounds of the modern world. Scared, a little clingy, needed attention- lots of
it. She wanted to be snuggled, played with, let outside, fed, played with some
more… and more… So much so that I got exhausted fast. I even caught a cold and
pink eye. Every bit of me, including my creative energy was consumed. On the
few occasions I got to my lap top, I destroyed perfectly acceptable wording
because nothing new came. I felt like a failure. But then Zoey would lick my
face and I’d shut my computer down and go back to being a pet mom… maybe I was
better at that then being a writer?

Three weeks later, I’m still getting up with her at five
a.m. By eight a.m., I’ve taken her for a walk, jogged around my property with
her twice, played tug of war and fetch for hours, fed her and so on. Operation:
Exhaust Puppy… and it’s working. She’s now napping from eight to ten. Wakes and
plays on her own until twelve. I have lunch and play with her until around
1:30. She sleeps again while I write until four or five and huzzah- I have a
routine again which taught me something I didn’t know about myself.

Having a set routine is very important to me when it comes
to avoiding writer’s block. I think my brain subconsciously prepares ideas for me when it has advanced warnings that I’ll be writing at a
certain time. Like Zoey, it has a routine. Follows it. My best advice to get around writer’s block, besides not getting a
puppy, (lol) is to plan your writing time and stick to it no matter what. Your
creative mind will count on being called on and you’ll count on it answering…
and it will… eventually J

***﻿

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19 comments:

Oh, Karen! I am still walking this path with 18 month old Tally. We run every morning. We play fetch while I check social media. She gnaws on disgusting smelling hooves filled with a coating of peanut butter.

To build her confidence, we got a dog trainer - first here at home when she was very young, and then in classes. Tally has had swim lessons and goes on field trips. Last week we had dinner with a class filled with German Shepherds at Panera Bread (no shrubs were destroyed, no diners disrupted).

The lost "productivity" is so worth it. She gives back much more than I could ever give to her - unconditional love, a reminder that life is meant to be lived (not spent looking at a computer screen). Enjoy your new addition. She looks adorable.

Aw! Thanks so much, Melinda :) You're right. Zoey is a gift and I'm blessed to have her in my life. Deadlines- shemdlines- lol. Tally sounds cute and I love that you are boosting her confidence with so much time, attention and love. You're a great pet mom!

Eight, this is what we're always telling each other - the writer has to live to have something to write about - to WANT to write. Zoey is adorable and as I read your schedule, I thank God for 12-year-old, sedentary Cheyenne.

Haha- if you only knew the crazy words I've posted... especially with my "smart" (not!) phone autocorrecting me. Sheesh. Thanks, Muriel :) Older, sedentary dogs like Cheyenne are wonderful! Loving and they know all the routines. If Greg hadn't surprised me with Zoey, I wouldn't have gotten another dog but now I'm glad he did. She is a sweetie!

Karen, I went through a similar thing with a pure white cat that landed on my doorstep in a shopping bag--no bigger than a mouse. She was only about two weeks old! Her chances of survival were very slim, but she made it and lived for 15 years. She had to have both ears removed, one at a time, due to skin cancer. It was more traumatic for me than her, but...gosh, I have to quit writing about this. That hole in my heart from her passing is making me emotional. She's been gone for a long time, but it still seems like yesterday. I now have 3 other cats that I love very much, but that one will always be my baby.

Denise, your story made me cry with you. You were a wonderful pet mom and she came to you because somehow she sensed you would care for her as beautifully as you did. She's meowing at angels and waiting until you are surely united some day ((HUGS))

I'm so glad you have your new little puppy, Karen! But I know what you mean about the extra attention needed. It had been awhile since we had kittens around our house, & when we brought home Mocha, we were reminded to keep him away from anything dangerous, carefully remove him from the curtains he climbed, and set a cushion next to the china cabinet for him to land on after leaping up there from another table (when he was a little older).

You bring up an interest insight concerning writing schedules. I hadn't thought about it that way, but it makes sense. Now if I can just get my mind to kick in more during writing sessions and less when I'm trying to sleep!

Aw! You are so good to Mocha! I never thought to put a cushion by a cabinet for our daring kitties. I remember when one of my cat's got atop our kitchen cabinets (and they nearly reach the ceiling) and I panicked! As for the writing, I'm glad if I inspired a possible approach. It really does help to just write at a certain time and be firm with yourself that no matter how bad it comes out, you're not stopping- eventually your mind will give up the good stuff :-)

Zoey is a darling little dog, Karen. I can understand why she takes all your time. Glad you have a routine again, though. Those books don't write themselves! Unless there really are writing elves or promotion elves out there.

Hey Karen! Now you know your biggest fan is gonna jump in on this discussion! Today I went up where Doug an I used to live when we were teenagers to the horses that are living across from where I once lived. Most people are going to share with you about cat's and / or dog's. These aren't my horses but I sure wish the one could be! Apache' is a sweet girl and I love taking apples and carrots to her and the other two. The one horse shy's away and that's ok. Apache' however, knows when I come walking up the road or when I drive up. She comes right to me like she is mine and for that few minutes she is! She let's me pet her, talk to her, and hand feed her those treat's. So doesn't the other horse. I have no idea what that one is called so I just say , " hey , Blaze"! She , too, is sweet and loves the treats. I have always wanted a horse and I know I never will so this is as close to owning one as I will get. Apache' sometime last summer or fall got into what we call burrdocks in her mane. No one took the time to clean it out of her braids. When I stopped today she was very well groomed to the point of nothing in her mane!! That made me happy. I felt sad tho because she has a mark , near her eye, that healing. It might be a hoof mark from one of the other's.... I am most happiest when I get to see " my" horse and talk to her like some lunatic! I hope she is there for many more years to come. Pam

Hi, Pam :-) I'm so glad you stopped by! Apache is your horse, too. Horses don't just come for anyone so you have a bond that can't be broken. My neighbors had horses and ponies and they let us ride them. It was such a thrill and I felt like I owned the horse (Dusty) whenever I rode him- so I know how you feel <3